Leanne Tiernan's mum says John Taylor should die in prison after admitting sex attacks on five more victims

THE MUM of murdered teenager Leanne Tiernan said a judge should 'throw the book' at her daughter's killer after he admitted a string of historic sex offences against five more victims.
Leanne Tiernan.Leanne Tiernan.
Leanne Tiernan.

Sharon Hawkhead told the Yorkshire Evening Post that she hoped John Taylor’s guilty pleas to 16 more sexual and violent offences means he will now die in prison.

Sadistic Taylor appeared before Leeds Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to offences against female victims in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

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Sadist sex killer who murdered Leeds teenager Leanne Tiernan admits more histori...
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The 62-year-old abducted and murdered Leanne in November 2000.

She was grabbed from a woodland path in Bramley before Taylor killed her at his home.

He then stored her corpse in a freezer at his home in Cockshott Drive, Bramley, as a “trophy”.

Mrs Hawkhead, 57, from Bramley, said: “I hope this means he will stay inside forever. They should throw the book at him. It ‘s just sad that he wasn’t caught for these offences before he did what he did to Leanne.

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“It would have been Leanne’s 34th birthday on September 27, but what happened still lives with me every day. I am suffering from anxiety and depression at the moment.

“Me and my kids had a good life until it happened.”

Mrs Hawkhead said she was not planning to attend the court hearing to see Taylor being sentenced.

She added: “I just hope gets the punishment he deserves.”

Leanne, a pupil at West Leeds High School, was last seen alive at 4.50 pm on 26 November 2000 when she and her friend returned to Bramley by bus after a shopping trip to Leeds city centre

The girls parted company at Houghley Lane, and Leanne went off along an unlit path through an area of wooded wasteland.

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Her friend then phoned Leanne’s home and was surprised to find she was not there.

At 5.20 pm Leanne’s mum rang her mobile phone to find out where she was, but the phone rang out for some time and then cut off.

When she rang it again, it was cut off after four rings. At 7.00pm she rang the police and reported her daughter as a missing person.

Police immediately began a missing person inquiry, headed by Detective Superintendent Chris Gregg, and a search of the area where Leanne was last seen was undertaken, although no trace of her was found.

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As the inquiry progressed, it became one of the largest ever undertaken by West Yorkshire Police.

Following the discovery of her body, DNA samples were taken from 200 people, including family, friends and known sex offenders living in the area.

Forensic evidence led police to Taylor, who lived only 1,300 yards from Leanne’s home.

On April, 3, 2003, following a police review of unsolved sexual attacks in the area, Taylor pleaded guilty to two separate rapes committed before the schoolgirl’s murder and received a further sentence of life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 30 years.

As a result of the murder inquiry police re-opened at least ten further cold case murder investigations.